Poncho Sanchez and His Latin Jazz Band -][- Live in Hollywood – [Concord Picante, 2012] –

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Composer, Concord Music Group, Concord Picante, Congas, Percussion, Poncho Sanchez

Poncho Sanchez and His Latin Jazz Band Live in Hollywoood

Poncho Sanchez and His Latin Jazz Band -][- Live in Hollywood –Mp3– [Concord Picante, 2012] –

For more than three decades as both a leader and a sideman, conguero Poncho Sanchez has stirred up a fiery stew of straightahead jazz, gritty soul music, and infectious melodies and rhythms from a variety of Latin American and South American sources. His influences are numerous, but among the more prominent figures that inform his music are two of the primary architects of Latin jazz – conga drummer and composer Chano Pozo and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. Sanchez pays tribute to these two titans on his new album, Chano y Dizzy!, his 25th recording as a bandleader on Concord Picante, set for release on September 27, 2011. For the first time, Sanchez and Francisco Torres, long time band member (trombone/vocals), join forces to produce the new album. -[Excerpt | Biography]-

As time allows, visit Poncho on his Facebook page.

:::: SOURCE: ponchosanchez.com ::::

2011 Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival Presented by US BANK AWARDED TWO NEA GRANTS

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2011 Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival, Esperanza Spalding, Poncho Sanchez, Randy Weston, Regina Carter

The 2011 Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Portland Jazz Festival Presented by US Bank has received two NEA grants. PDX Jazz has been awarded a Jazz Masters Live grant and Challenge America Fast-Track grant.

National Endowment For The Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) created the Jazz Masters Live grant to help bring outstanding jazz musicians, writers, producers, and scholars to communities across the nation through NEA Jazz Masters Live. In cooperation with Arts Midwest, these NEA Jazz Masters Live grants support performance and educational activities featuring NEA Jazz Masters, recipients of the nation’s highest honor in jazz. The program celebrates these living legends who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz and offers audiences the unique opportunity to share the artists’ expertise in performances, master classes, clinics, lectures, and short term residencies. “Live interactions between musicians and audiences are essential to jazz,” said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman.

NEA Jazz Master and acclaimed pianist, Randy Weston, will open the 2011 Portland Jazz Festival on February 18 at the Winningstad Theatre with an evening of solo jazz piano. He will also lead a workshop for Portland State University students and participate in the festival’s “Jazz Conversation” series, hosted by Marty Hughley. Weston will be appearing in support of his most recent album, The Story Teller, available through Motema Music, and his recently released autobiography, African Rhythms, available through Duke University Press.

Flux Music Essentials … featuring [Corea, Malheiros, McBride, Sanchez & Schneider]

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Chick Corea, Christian McBride, Jazz, Maria Schneider, Poncho Sanchez, Sabrina Malheiros

Flux Music Essentials

Greeting’s fellow jazz enthusiasts, I’m back in the mix with another tantalizing yet satisfying blend of original jazz that’s shaken and stirred to perfection from the shelves of “Flux Music Essentials.”

Chick Corea & Friends - Remembering Bud Powell

Chick Corea & Friends -//- Remembering Bud Powell – [Stretch Records, 1997]

Playing is genuinely inspired throughout. No one sounds half-hearted, not one note sounds contrived, and the songs are wonderfully different from each other. The album didn’t immediately serve my ears, but met me halfway; leaving me ‘educated’, and better for having purchased it. It’s true what they say about loving the albums you aren’t initially fond of, because that was true with Remembering Bud Powell. It was above me, but I am growing to appreciate the maturity of the album. Except for Bud Powell (Corea’s invention), all of the songs come from Powell’s songbook. And yet despite their age, the arrangements sound youthful and new, due to the level of enthusiasm displayed by Corea and his friends.

Even Roy Haynes’ drumming sounds richly melodious; subtle changes in volume and rhythm indicate an involvement and ownership of the music which surpass usual expectations of a timekeeper. While listening to the album one becomes aware of the uniqueness of one particular musician, and that is Kenny Garrett. His playing is angular , extremely expressive, and always interesting. His playing on Mediocre is so intricate and unexpected that it must be dealt with-either by hating it or loving it. The unspoken connection made by this group of players is best exemplified during the transitions from solo to solo. I find that my favorite thing to look for in this album, besides the individual sounds of Garrett and Haynes, is the interaction between soloists, and the way each player expects and anticipates the other’s thoughts. This album is too deep to ever become irrelevant or boring. —Amazon.com

Poncho Sanchez -][- Psychedelic Blues – [Concord Picante, 2009] –

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Concord Picante, Congas, Latin Music, Latin Soul, Percussion, Poncho Sanchez

Poncho Sanchez, Psychedelic Blues

Poncho Sanchez -][- Psychedelic Blues –Mp3– [Concord Picante, 2009]

Poncho Sanchez returns with Psychedelic Blues. The world’s top Latin jazz ensemble comes roaring back with this exciting new release, which finds them going back to their roots with excellent new treatments of jazz and Latin jazz classics, such as Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island,” Freddie Hubbard’s “Crisis” and a medley of classics from Willie Bobo. The album also features a pair of original songs written especially for this album.

Along with Synowiec is the same lineup that has backed Sanchez on several records and countless live shows: keyboardist/arranger David Torres; saxophonist Javíer Vergara; trumpeter/flugelhornist Ron Blake; trombonist/arranger Francisco Torres; bassist/vocalist Tony Banda; timbalero George Ortiz; and percussionist/vocalist Joey De León. Even a couple alumni from earlier configurations of Sanchez’s band baritone saxophonist Scott Martin and percussionist Alfredo Ortiz step back into lend a hand on Psychedelic Blues.

A few of these seasoned players go back more than 30 years with Sanchez, back to some of his earliest gigs as a local fixture in the Los Angeles club circuit.

Release Date: September 29, 2009

Source: Amazon.com

The Weekend Spin [Jackets, DeFrancesco, Sanchez & Najee]

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Christmas Music, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Joey DeFrancesco, Latin Jazz, Najee, Organ, Poncho Sanchez, The Yellowjackets

Greeting’s  fellow jazz enthusiast … Friday has finally arrived.  Today we’re kicking off the weekend with another appetizing array of superb jazz. Being that it’s the “Christmas Season,” we thought we’d pull out jazz super-group the “Yellowjackets” and their infallible interpretations of Christmas classics titled “Peace Round.”

Yellowjackets, Peace

Yellowjackets | Peace Round – “A Christmas Celebration” [Heads Up/Christmas Jazz/2003]

Recording a Christmas collection poses some unique challenges. One must make these familiar Christmas songs personal but at the same time respect their original intent and the spirit of the season. We felt we could best do this by capturing lyrical and relaxed performances. We also wanted to render the songs as directly as possible with spare use of overdubbing. Therefore most performances are first or second takes and all but two are just the quartet live. ~ Yellowjackets.com